The National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics has applauded the reintroduction of a bill to educate veterans with limb loss and other orthopedic injuries about their right to quality O&P care, and called on members to contact their representatives in Congress to support it.
The Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights has been reintroduced as H.R. 2322, according to a press release from the National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics (NAAOP). The bill was sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.).
According to NAAOP, the bill would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to prominently post a list of rights regarding O&P care in every VA prosthetics and orthotics clinic in the nation. The list would also be posted on the VA website.
Identical bills have previously been introduced, with one such iteration passing the U.S. House of Representatives. However, it failed to make it through the Senate before Congress adjourned, according to the NAAOP.
“There is a reason the bill has not passed: The Veterans Administration is not exactly enamored with this bill,” Peter Thomas, JD, general counsel for the NAAOP, said in a YouTube address to members. “They do not like being told what to do, typically by Congress, and so they are resisting the bill. But we feel this is in the interest of veterans, and we hear consistently of stories in which veterans are receiving inconsistent information, inconsistent care across the country, and we believe the Injured and Amputee Veterans Bill of Rights will assist them in getting access to the care that they need and deserve.”
The NAAOP has asked members to contact their representatives in the House and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 2322. A template letter of support is available at the NAAOP website.
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